Home For Christmas
by Yono Lindquist
Summary: A CloudXTifa Christmas story. Cloud is on his way back from a delivery job. However, the heavy falling snow is slowing him down. Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene are all waiting for him. But will he make it home for Christmas?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So I felt like writing a small story for the four Sundays of Advent. Originally, I'm writing this as part of a Christmas calendar for my friend, but I wanted to share it with all of you guys out there, to wish you a merry Christmas.

This will only contain four chapters. I may include a special chapter for Christmas Eve as well, but I haven't quite decided yet. Anyway, since it was written just for the fun of it, there won't be any kick-ass action. Mostly, it's feelings and me trying to put the spirit of Christmas into my writings.

I hope you'll like it. Merry Christmas, and merry 1st Sunday of Advent!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Snow fell from the dark sky, and Cloud sighed as he took off his sunglasses and looked up. It seemed a storm was coming which meant he would not be able to get any further today. It worried him, because he still had a long way to go before he reached Midgar and Christmas was only a few days away. He knew Tifa would be waiting with Denzel and Marlene, and Cloud really wanted to celebrate the holidays with them. And even if he had not wanted to, he still owed them so because he had been far away for a long time by now. The delivery to the edges of Wutai had been a relieve, a way to end his restlessness, yet now he was starting to regret he ever took on the job.

When the snow began falling even heavier, he decided he had to seek shelter somewhere. Putting his sunglasses back on to shelter his eyes from the white snowflakes, he started his motor bike again and looked for the caves he knew from his earlier journeys through this area must be nearby. He had a feeling these delivery jobs had taught him more about the country's wasteland than most people would ever discover.

Finally, he found what he was searching for. Parking his bike, he took out the tarpaulinhe always brought with him and covered it to protect it from the snow. Then he took his bag and started climbing the mountain.

The cave was not that far up, but the height was sufficient to keep a lookout in order to avoid sudden surprises. And he would get a chance to sit down with a blanket and warm himself. Though he had been prepared for winter when he packed his clothes, he still found himself shivering in the cold. He was looking forward to Tifa's great cooking, the warmth of her body next to his, and to see her smile at him when he entered the room, carrying with him the presents he had bought on the way. The bag he had packed them in was wrapped securely to the back of his bike.

Taking out a blanket, Cloud lied down on the stone surface of the cave and wrapped it around himself. If he would not be able to get any further today due to the storm, he might as well get some sleep. Then he could at least get going as soon as the weather changed for the better.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: First, thanks to CuteKick for reviewing~, I'm glad you like the story!

So now we change to Tifa's point of view for a chapter as she waits for Cloud to come back home. Since I'm from Denmark, I've allowed myself to be inspired by the Danish way of decorating and our way of celebrating Christmas so if some of it seems weird to you, now at least you know why. I had trouble finding the English words for things like "klatrenisser" and "julekugler"; hope you'll know it anyway. (:

Also, I know they probably don't have Christmas in the world of FFVII, so there's really no need to tell me.

Anyway, hope you'll continue to enjoy the story. (: Merry 2nd Sunday of Advent!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

"Tifa, can I put this one here?" Marlene asked as she stood on her toes next to the tree, a shiny Christmas ball in her hand.

"Yes, of course," Tifa replied. "In fact, I don't think there's any place that would suit it better than there."

This made the girl grin broadly and she quickly ran to get another Christmas ball before Denzel could take them as they were her favorite sort of Christmas decorations. She needn't worry, however, as Denzel was currently busy with the cardboard elves instead. It made Tifa smile, seeing the two children so exited. And of course, it _was_ nice that Christmas Eve was slowly getting closer. However, she could not help but worry about Cloud.

It had already been more than a week since he left to take care of that delivery job. She wondered how far he had gotten, if he was on his way home yet. She had not wanted him to take such a far away job this close to Christmas, but sometimes Cloud just needed to be alone for a while and so she had not said anything, had not stopped him. After all, he always came back a lot calmer than he took off.

She supposed it was the ride, making him shake off his thoughts. Tifa wished _she _could be the one to help him with that, though. Cloud had opened up his heart to her now more than ever before, yet she still sensed there was some worry inside it he could not let go of and could not voice out. She knew what it must be; Sephiroth was still haunting the mind of her beloved even now. But at least it seemed Cloud no longer doubted he could fight him and Jenova and always end up the winner. Tifa sensed she had at least brought him that much peace because he stayed home a lot longer than he used to.

She did not realize she had gotten lost in thoughts before Denzel came over to her.

"Are you looking for Cloud?" he asked quietly, and Tifa knew she must have let her worry show. She quickly shook it off and smiled at him.

"No, I was admiring the snow," she replied. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mm." Denzel leaned on the windowsill, an unplaced elf in his hand. They were both silent for a while. Then Denzel spoke again.

"Is Cloud gonna be home for Christmas?"

She had forgotten how perceptive Denzel had become. It was no wonder, really, that he was doubting as well. Only Marlene was still too little to understand how the snow could easily block every road and make them impassable. But Cloud had fought his way past enemies more hostile than the weather, and Tifa wanted to believe in him no matter what.

"Of course he is," she assured Denzel. "Right now, he's probably a whole lot closer than we think."

This apparently made Denzel a bit calmer. Because if Tifa said so, of course it must be right. He put down the elf and went back to the box still full of decorations, and soon he and Marlene was mock-arguing about where to place a specific Santa Claus figure.

Tifa turned her eyes back to the still-falling snow. Then she got herself together. Walking over to the two kids, she said:

"All right, who wants to help me prepare dinner?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the review, sunflowerspot! Made me happy~

Back to Cloud. He's paying a short visit to an old friend on the way to pick up something. Have a guess at what, coz I won't reveal it until the final chapter~

By the way, sorry for the late upload. I had a bunch of stuff to do and didn't get to write the chapter until I got home today. I'll try and be faster next time, promise!

Merry 3rd Sunday of Advent! :D

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

The following days, the snow continued to fall, but after staying for twenty-four hours in the cave, Cloud ventured out into the harsh weather. The tiny snowflakes hit his face hard as he got onto his motor bike and started the engine, but he put on his sunglasses as protection and drove on. He knew if he'd stayed any longer, he would not be able to make it home before Christmas Eve, especially because he had to make a short stop on the way to pick up one last thing.

Soon, the wind had gotten stronger and every blow made it feel as if it intended to rip off his skin. But tough his teeth clattered and he was shivering from top to toe, Cloud simply continued forward. He had a feeling he would have gotten lost, had it not been due to the fact that he knew the wastelands like the back of his hand, and the way Tifa's face kept appearing before him, giving him the will to drive on towards Midgar.

Around noon three days after he'd left the cave, he finally pulled in at a small house in the middle of nowhere somewhere close to Rocket Town. Brushing the worst snow off his clothes, he grabbed his pack and went to knock on the small wooden door. He had to knock twice before the sound of footsteps finally reached his ears, and a moment later the door was opened by a middle-aged man with short, blond hair who only cast one glance at Cloud before motioning for him to come inside.

"There you are," Cid Highwind said. "Took you long enough."

"The snow slowed me down a little," Cloud replied. "So, did you get it?"

"Got it, alright," Cid told him. "It's right in here. Had a bit of trouble getting back from Nibelheim, but there's no weather my dear ol' plane can't handle. Let me get it for ya."

And he left for the living room. Cloud, not wanting to drip snow all over the house, stayed in the hall. He did not have to stand there long before Cid returned, carrying a paper bag in one hand and a small item wrapped in brown parchment in the other.

"Hope she'll like it," he said as he handed Cloud the package. "Care to take these," and he gestured to the bag, "back with ya? They're to Tifa an' the lass an' lad. Christmas presents."

"Sure," Cloud replied, knowing he still had some room left.

"Want a cup of tea before ye're leaving?" Cid inquired.

Cloud shook his head.

"No thanks. I've gotta get going. There's still a good deal of miles left before I'll reach Midgar."

"Well, the storm's gotten worse, so take care," Cid said, making the ghost of a smile appear on Cloud's face.

"I will."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for reviewing! I'm so glad to write a Christmas calendar. Maybe I'll write one next year as well.

So, this chapter takes a little explaining because they're celebrating Christmas, and - as I mentioned before - I'm inspired by the way we do it in Denmark. I'm not sure how it's done in a lot of other countries (though I think a lot of it is the same), so I'll just quickly sum it up:  
>On Christmas Eve, we celebrate by having a Christmas dinner with our family andor loved ones. Then it's tradition to dance around the Christmas fir tree, singing traditional Christmas songs like "Højt fra træets grønne top" (translated as something like: "From the tree's top up high"). For dessert, we usually eat something called risalamande, which is (according to the dictionary) "a traditional Danish Christmas dessert made of rice pudding, whipped cream and blanched, chopped almonds". We put in one almond that's still whole, and the one who finds it, gets a present chosen specially for this. Later on in the evening, we open the presents lying underneath the Christmas tree.

Wow, this note became long, sorry about that. I'll take this chance to wish you all a merry Christmas!

Oh, and this is the final actual chapter, but I decided I'll make an epilogue. I'll upload it on December 25, unless my parents' Internet is down (that happens regularly when the weather's bad).

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

The snow was still falling. Every so often, Tifa stopped by the window on her way to put food on the table or presents under the tree or pick up a cardboard elf that had fallen to the floor. It was getting late, the kids were getting hungry, and she would not be able to put off dinner for much longer. She just really wished Cloud would walk through that door, kiss her, and tell her Merry Christmas, but it was starting to look like he was not gonna make it home for Christmas.

She sighed and removed a strand of hair from her face, then turned away to get a beer for Barret. He had arrived early, having fought his way through the snow to see Marlene and spend Christmas with them all. She was grateful he was there because it would have been very tough to do all the last Christmas preparations herself. Now he was sitting by the living room table, entertaining the kids with stories from his journeys while they were playing a game. Marlene was on his knee, smiling broadly, and Denzel's face had lit up as well, which made Tifa happy because he had seemed very worried all day, and she knew it was because Cloud was not here yet.

"Here you go." Placing the beer on the table in front of Barret, she sat down in the arm chair next to him.

"Thanks, Tifa," he replied, before Marlene craved his attention again, and Tifa lost herself in thoughts.

_Where are you, Cloud? _she wondered. Had he found refugee in one of those caves in the wasteland? Was he even anywhere _near_ Midgar yet? Would she see him tomorrow, or not until next week? She hated not knowing. It was like she could not take her mind off him at all whenever he was away, especially not when the kids weren't keeping her busy.

A quarter of an hour later they gathered round the table to eat, and her spirits rose a little. She decided she might as well get the best out of the evening. She did not want her worries to drag down the others. They danced around the Christmas tree afterwards, Barret somewhat clumsily managing to get past that place where the tree was a little too close to the wall in his opinion, then sat down to watch the usual Christmas movie. The snow was still falling outside.

"Tifa, Tifa!" Marlene called at some point. "When are we gonna open the presents?"

"Not until after dessert," Tifa replied with a little smile, knowing the impatience of the young girl. Denzel was probably just as eager; he simply managed to conceal it better because he wanted to prove he was older than Marlene not only in years. Well, the girl _had_ matured quite a lot during the last year or so, but so had he, Tifa mused as she watched the two. They were growing up so fast.

They had dessert when the movie ended, and surprisingly enough Barret was the one who found the almond in the risalamande. He laughed when he opened the almond-present and found it to be a small candle that almost looked like a Materia in the way it was colored.

"Nice, this one!" he exclaimed, winking at Tifa. "Too bad that little thief ain't here, huh?"

Well, she had to admit seeing that candle _had _reminded her of Yuffie, which was probably why she couldn't help buying it.

They were about to open the presents lying underneath the Christmas tree and Tifa had more or less given up on seeing Cloud this evening when suddenly a knock on the door sounded. Her heart beating fast in her chest, Tifa quickly got up.

"I'll get it," she said, her mouth almost dry. She barely dared to hope, and she felt herself hesitating for a moment before touching the door handle, preparing herself for the disappointment when it was not him standing outside.

However, when she opened the door, she looked into familiar sky-blue eyes. Though covered in snow from top to toe, Cloud smiled the way he always reserved for her.

"I'm home," he said quietly.

Tifa, not caring that her clothes would get wet, flung her arms around him. A moment later, so did Denzel and Marlene, both yelling his name with great joy, and even Barret came to clap his back before ushering all of them to step properly inside and close the damn door before they let all the heat out.

Cloud had fought his way through the snowstorm, Tifa thought warmly while she watched him fetch the presents he had brought and put them under the tree, and he had done this for his family. He had made it home for Christmas.


	5. Epilogue

A/N: Again, I'd like to thank everyone who've reviewed! Getting response on my stories means a lot to me! Now that I've finished Home For Christmas, I'll get back to working on my other current project, Sinister Sundown. It's a Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy VII crossover in an alternate universe. If you feel like it, please check it out. :)

So, as a small Christmas present from me to you, here's the very last chapter of the story. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

The kids had been put to bed, and Barret had collapsed in the guest room. It had been a long and joyful evening, but Tifa did not feel tired yet. She knew she would, eventually, but for now she busied herself with the last cleaning that needed to be done. Then she sat down in the couch and found herself gazing at the Christmas tree, on which the Christmas lights were still shining. It was so beautiful, and somehow it made her feel at peace.

The couch shifted beneath her as Cloud sat down.

"Hey," he said. "Aren't you tired?"

"Somehow," she replied. "But I don't feel like going to bed yet."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help with the preparations." And he really did sound that way. Tifa shook her head and turned to smile at him.

"No, it's okay. You got here on time to celebrate the evening with us, and that's what matters. Both to me and the kids. And Barret, though he'd never say it out loud. I'm happy."

This, in turn, made him smile, that shadow of a smile she knew so very well. They sat in silence for a while, and she took his hand, resting her head against him. She let out a content sigh as he stroke her hair gently. After a while, Cloud spoke again.

"Tifa?"

"Hmm?" She was finally getting sleepy, the weariness of the day catching up with her.

He did not say anymore, simply held out a small package wrapped in brown parchment before her. Curious – and very surprised – she sat back up and met his eyes. He did not have to explain; she knew the gift was for her. With hands almost shaking, she accepted it and slowly, carefully began to unwrap it.

There was a box inside, very simple and made of wood. Holding her breath, she opened it.

"Oh, Cloud!"

He explained as she held the small piece of jewelry up before her. It was a necklace; a chain of silver with a polished piece of wood as a pendant. And as he spoke, she could feel tears gathering in her eyes.

"It's from the well in Nibelheim. The promise we made back then… it kept us together, somehow. That, and how you never gave up on me, even though I never thought I deserved your devotion. I love you, Tifa. I promise again that I will always protect you, from this day onwards as well."

And he kissed her. She responded to his kiss, wrapping her arms around him as he deepened it. They sat there, just the two of them, on the couch in their house, and Cloud knew he had finally found the place he belonged. The place where he could somehow forget his worries because Tifa was there beside him always.

"Help me put it on," she whispered after a while, and he met her beautiful hazel eyes, nodded and obeyed. He had to brush away her hair to do it, his fingers lingering to caress her neck for a moment, and she could feel herself shudder in delight at his touch. She really loved him with all her heart. To think that he had gotten her such a beautiful present, such a _meaningful _present … Tifa wondered if he knew just how happy he made her.

They lied down on the couch in each other's arms, and Tifa eventually fell asleep with a smile on her face, the warmth of Cloud's body making her relax better than anything else could. She barely noticed when Cloud lifted her up and carried her into their bed, or the sound of the rest of the house waking up some hours later. All she knew as dawn slowly broke was the fact that Cloud was back, lying beside her. She would be sure to always give him a home to return to, however far away he may go. Always.


End file.
